Posted by Mike Florio on March 25, 2010 3:55 PM ET
For more than two months, the Eagles played it coy regarding the possibility of trading quarterback Donovan McNabb, hoping for an offer they couldn't refuse.

And then when the offer never came, they needed a Plan B.

Plan B has unfolded far more haphazardly, with coach Andy Reid publicly acknowledging that offers have been made for McNabb and then smoldering rumors of a trade to the Rams becoming a report from Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer that the trade could happened by the end of the week, if not by the end of the day.

(The Rams strongly denied the report, and McLane has since backed off dramatically. But the damage may already have been done. We're hearing that McLane had been hoping to become the new Eagles beat writer for the Inquirer, replacing Bob Brookover, who now covers the Phillies. We're also hearing that the swing and the miss on the McNabb-to-Rams story may have kept that from happening.)

So if the Rams aren't doing a deal, which team will? Jason La Canfora of NFL.com reports that the Raiders are "in heaviest pursuit." Other possibilities are the Bills and Cardinals. (However, one media source with whom we spoke is convinced that Buffalo owner Ralph Wilson would never pay McNabb an eight-figure salary.)

Even though McNabb reportedly prefers Arizona to Buffalo or Oakland, the Raiders have shown that they're not afraid to trade for a reluctant player with only one year left on his contract. They did it last year with defensive end Richard Seymour, who now carries the exclusive level of the franchise tag.

If they are really trying to land McFlabb, what does that tell you about their current QB situation? It's a stretch at most, or a smokescreen for something else to happen, either way I really don't care...

It would be interesting to see what kind of leadership he could bring. As a vet he could maybe get that team focused a bit, but there have also been some questions about his leadership in the huddle in the past (of course TO was involved in some of this so I don't put much faith in it).

As a long time Raider Hater, I would prefer they stick with Russell for a few more seasons.

After all the **** you've seen out of them in just the last 5 years, you can't possibly be serious.

No way.

They could trade Philly Nmandi and Seymour and I wouldn't blink an eye. Raiders are flat out STUPID.

Click to expand...

I say raiders r gonna trade Nnamdi and their first round pick in 2010 and 2011 to the rams for number one pick. Then they draft jacoby ford with #1 pick because he ran a 4.28 at combine and then with the 8th pick jahvid best because he ran a 4.35:icon_rofl:

THey trade their second round pick and seymour for mike vick because he used to be really fast.:icon_shrug: They then trade their remaining draft picks the next too yrs other than 3rd round in 2010 for brandon marshall. With that last draft pick, they get legarrette blount because he fits in well with Tom Cable...

There ya go... Al Davis has obviously secured Raider superbowl supremacy for the next decade:icon_toast::icon_rofl:

Over the past few days, we've been sharing and reacting to the many reports regarding the status of Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb, a process that was sparked when coach Andy Reid said on Tuesday that other teams are "entertaining us with offers" regarding McNabb. Several of the reports from others in the media are a bit inconsistent, to say the least.

Our only original reporting in this regard focused on the fact that a Rams source privately said there was "no truth" to the report of an imminent trade for McNabb, several hours before G.M. Billy Devaney went on the record with Bernie Miklasz of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and said that the report was in fact "utterly ridiculous" and "absolutely false." (We also posted an uncorrborated tip that the Raiders were considering an offer of cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha for McNabb and cornerback Asante Samuel; the tip was partially corroborated by Len Pasquarelli of ESPN.com.)

Now, we've got some more.

Per a source with knowledge of the situation, the Eagles are receiving offers from teams that have not been identified publicly at the request of the teams making the offers. This is happening for two reasons: (1) some of the teams have incumbent starting quarterbacks who would be confused, to say the least, if they learned that McNabb could be joining the club; and (2) none of the teams want fans or the media to know that they are courting McNabb, in the event that they fail to land him.

This doesn't explain the fact that the Bills, Rams, and Raiders have been named as potential trade partners. According to the source, however, the Eagles have disclosed to no one the names of the teams with whom they are or aren't talking.

We initially believed that Jeff McLane's erroneous report that McNabb could be a Ram by the end of the week was the Eagles themselves, who were floating a phony rumor in the hopes of sending a "speak now or forever hold your piece/peace" vibe to other interested teams. Based on our source, McLane apparently had a different source.

It's possible that McLane's source was McNabb himself, or agent Fletcher Smith. (McLane's subsequent report that McNabb prefers playing for the Vikings suggests he has a pipeline into the McNabb camp.) This approach by McNabb would allow him to push the issue to a head without pulling a Jay Cutler and openly demanding a trade.

The McLane report isn't the only nugget that might not reflect reality. ESPN's Sal Paolantonio says that no one is willing to offer more than a third-round pick. But as our source pointed out, "Has he talked to every team and have they told him their offer?"

ESPN's Adam Schefter reported that McNabb told coach Andy Reid that he preferred staying put to joining the Bills or the Raiders, and McNabb's agent thereafter said that McNabb has said nothing to the team. Though it's possible that the agent is speaking with a sporked tongue, the discrepancy has largely been ignored.

Finally, the Associated Press reported that the Eagles want the 42nd pick or higher in the 2010 draft. (And, of course, the AP report was taken as gospel truth because the AP has never been wrong.) Said the source, "Does anyone really believe the Eagles would pick such a random number and draw a line in the sand?" We're told that something higher than this reported threshold already has been offered. The source believes that the "42 or higher" requirement was leaked by one or more other teams in order to frame the value -- and possibly to create local pressure on the Eagles, many of whose fans generally are anxious, to say the least, to see McNabb get run out of town.

As we understand it, the Eagles have received a variety of offers, with draft picks only and players only and players and picks. We're told that the Eagles have never placed an asking price on McNabb. Instead, they're doing exactly what we reported in early March that they'd do -- sitting back and waiting for the offers to come and evaluating them at the appropriate time.

As we also understand it, the Eagles soon will review the proposals and decide whether to pursue any of them.

Though we'll continue to post reports from other folks who follow the NFL for a living, it's important to keep this broader context in mind. We'll try to do so; we encourage you to do the same.